Jalandhar cardiologist booked for death of patient due to negligence

TNN | Updated: Sep 28, 2018, 8:42 IST

JALANDAR: A Jalandhar cardiologist has been booked for the death of a patient due to alleged negligence in November 2017. An FIR has been registered on the basis of a report submitted by a medical board. It is learnt that the police also took opinion of the district attorney. Complainant Mandeep Singh, a resident of Kapurthala, had accused Dr Nitish Garg of Cardionova Hospital of delaying his father Raghbir Singh Walia’s father treatment, who was brought to his hospital with sustained myocardial infarction (heart attack). The four-member medical board was constituted after the deceased’s kin lodged a complaint with the police. The board mentioned in its report that the relatives of the patient were told that the lead cardiologist Dr Garg was not in the town and “all immediate treatment (explained in written to the relative) will be available shortly.” The medical board noted that 90 minutes of crucial time lapsed while waiting for the definitive treatment (primarily in the form of angioplasty). “While Dr Garg could not reach the hospital in 90 minutes (sic) then on request of the patient’s relatives the patient was shifted to Joshi Hospital in Cardionova hospital ambulance where the patient was declared brought dead. This delay in further treatment of Raghbir Singh appears to be multifactorial,” the report noted.

The medical board held that apart from other factors, “non-availability of Dr Garg” was one factor too. It held that though it was mismanaged from the beginning, it could have been managed in a better way. The commissionerate of police then sought opinion of the district attorney who observed that it was a case of medical negligence. The FIR was then registered against Dr Garg under Section 304 (death due to negligence) of the IPC.